Quinton Jackson

Pride Fighting Championships: You look like you're back to the old Quinton. What's up with that? Quinton Jackson: Yeah, that's the thing. As I grow in my Christian self, I'm getting more used to it. It's so fun being a Christian. It's so fun being born-again. I'm not brainwashed anymore. Now, I'm used to it. Before, I couldn't believe the things people were doing. It's weird because you see the world with new eyes in the beginning.

Pride:	You were quite the last time but now you seem like the old Quinton.
Jackson:	It was always me but I had to get used to it, just like I had to get used to being a fighter. I had to get used to being interviewed. I'm just happy now.
Pride:	What do you think about your fight with Ninja?
Jackson:	Man, I was so dehydrated. I'm surprised I won that fight. If Ninja had 2 month's to practice, he would have beat my ass.
Pride:	You still did what you had to do. It was a good fight but it wasn't a Quinton Jackson fight.
Jackson:	Yeah. That's part of my thing. Now, I just train my hardest, go out there and fight, and put it in God's hands. If he wants me to win, I'll win. If it's not for me to win, I'll lose. I have to learn.
Pride:	You're still 26, right?
Jackson:	Yeah.
Pride:	6'1" and 205?
Jackson:	Yeah. 205 when I make weight.
Pride:	Still with Team Oyama?
Jackson:	Got somethin' for your momma, still.
Pride:	Did you feel better after you saw your last fight? What were you thoughts on the fight?
Jackson:	I was sloppy. I hated the way I looked. Some things happen. I made a mistake cutting weight.
Pride:	How does the tournament differ from that last fight? What have you done in the time between?
Jackson:	I sparred a lot with a pro kick boxer in California.
Pride:	What weight?
Jackson:	He's 250. He gave me a little kick and that hurt my ankle, so I haven't been able to run very well for this fight but that won't stop my heart.
Pride:	What kind of food are you eating now?
Jackson:	Man, I eat good food. My nutritionist/nanny/nurse/nag/mom is the best nutritionist around. She hooks me up. The diet she's got me on is a good diet but some times I don't have the discipline.
Pride:	Is she a new nutritionist?
Jackson:	No, she's the same one, since my Kevin Randleman fight. My fianc??e, Yuki, has been cooking my meals. I'm supposed to eat six times a day and she's just the best.
Pride:	Do you eat a lot of Japanese food?
Jackson:	No, she cooks everything. She's a good cook. She's pregnant, by the way. I'm going to have a blackanese.
Pride:	Do you feel back to your normal weight? Are you quicker and faster?
Jackson:	It's like this; you know I was doing better in my old fights?
Pride:	Yeah, you were slamming people.
Jackson:	And I was punching. You remember when I first fought, I was sparring a lot. I didn't know much but I was sparring a lot. For my Wanderlei fight, I only sparred two times. I didn't spar much for my Arona fight because I just came off a broken hand. Now, I've been sparring a lot. I've been sparring two or three times a week.
Pride:	Does that come naturally to you?
Jackson:	I'm not that good of a fighter. I'm not good at boxing, I'm not good at wrestling, I'm not good at jiu-jitsu and I'm not good at muay thai, but when you roll it all together, it's a kick-that-butt style. My sparring partner is good, too. We go back and forth. One day I kick his butt, and then he'll kick mine. The first day he came down, he didn't expect me to do good because I'm a mixed martial artist. The second day, he came and he was ready. We were going back and forth. I was handling him by the end of our training. I want to spar some K-1 guys.
Pride:	So, you came off the fight with Ninja, and then his brother challenged you to a fight.
Jackson:	Who's next? His dad?
Pride:	You are calling it Silva's crony fight. They are brothers but they are different. Shogun seems to be the guy with the rocket on his back right now. What is your feeling about fighting him and what kind of challenge does he present to you?
Jackson:	It's going to be a good challenge. The guy is tough. He's got heart but he doesn't have that much experience. That's nothing, though, because a lot of times I've beaten guys with more experience. I just refuse to lay down. If he's going to beat me, he's going to have to knock me out, submit me or make the referee pull him off of me. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to be in his face and he's going to smell my breath. I hope it's bad!
Pride:	The Ninja fight was tough, although you needed an easy fight after you knockout by Wanderlei Silva.
Jackson:	The Ninja fight taught me that even though I'm in my worse condition, I will not give up. So many times, my mind said just give up. It hurt to swallow, I was so dehydrated but I just didn't want to lose. I might lose but I'm not a loser. If I can feel like that in a fight, and not give up, there's always room to come back. The guy might get tired of kicking your butt.
Pride:	Do you think you have to show even more because of your last fight with Ninja?
Jackson:	I was going to pace myself last time and I thought Ninja would have better cardio. Luckily for me, he didn't. I just know that it's Action Jackson. I'm going to try to get him out of there in the 1st round. Even if I didn't do very well in the last fight, I still think it was exciting. Who wants to see a one-sided fight? I wish it was one-sided with me dominating, though. There'll be a rematch one day. He deserves a rematch. I'll fight Ninja again. I want to pay him back for slamming me. That's the first time I've been slammed in a fight. I shouldn't get slammed in fights. What the hell was I doing going for a guillotine? You could tell I didn't know what I was doing. I don't even get it in training!